Food Safety Best Practices Overview

• Harvest Overview

• Post-Harvest Handling Overview

• Processing Overview
  • Freezing
  • Drying
  • Value-Added Products

Harvest Overview

Food safety best practices are about reducing risks from biological, chemical, or physical contaminants on produce, and documenting what steps you've taken to identify and minimize (though perhaps not completely eliminate) various risks.

For elderberry growers, implementing Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) may be more complicated due to the unique types of growing scenarios in which this crop can be encountered, such as hedgerows, orchards, or wild harvesting. Broadly, GAPs outline basic requirements related to water, manure, worker health and hygiene, facilities, field sanitation, packing facility sanitation and transportation. 

Adopting best practices when harvesting can both minimize the risk of food contamination and preserve the quality of the elderberries and elderflowers so that a safe, quality product can be developed down the line. 

This video walks you through steps to take before you begin harvest:

In this video, we show you the what, when, and how of safely harvesting elderberries.

This guide outlines best practices and food safety recommendations for harvesting elderberries and elderflowers:

• Food Safety Best Practices: Elderberry Harvest (also available as a PDF) 

Here are some additional resources that might be useful towards adopting food safety best practices for harvesting elderberries:

• Wildlife and Animal Management: Decision Tree. Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. (2023). 
• Cleaning vs. Sanitizing. Produce Safety Alliance. (2020). 
• Introduction to Selecting an EPA-Labeled Sanitizer. Produce Safety Alliance. (2018, October). 
• Cleaning and Sanitizing Record Template. Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Institute for Food Safety. (2023). 
• Farm and Packinghouse Record Keeping Sheets. Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. (2023).
• Bins, Buckets, Baskets, and Totes. University of Vermont Extension Ag Engineering. (2018, November 14). 

Post-Harvest Handling Overview

Implementing food safety best practices for destemming and washing elderberries is important for overall food safety and quality of your end products. A critical component of these best practices is the cleaning and sanitizing of food contact and non-food contact surfaces to prevent the cross-contamination of pathogenic microorganisms. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) should be developed and documented to ensure that basic food safety protocols are followed. Overall, food safety standards can help reduce the risk of physical, chemical, and biological contamination.

In this video, we focus on post-harvest practices such as washing and destemming with particular attention to food safety: 

This written guide covers best practices and food safety recommendations for post-harvest handling of elderberries and elderflowers:

• Food Safety Best Practices: Elderberry Post-Harvest Handling (also available as a PDF)

Here are some additional resources that might be useful towards adopting food safety best practices for post-harvest handling of elderberries:

• Labeled Sanitizers for Produce Tool. Food Safety Resource Clearinghouse. 
• Elderberry Farming - Destemming and Washing Berries [Video]. Buehler Organics. (2022, August 25). 
• Wash Water Sanitizers. University of Minnesota on Farm GAP Food Safety Team.  
• Vegetable Wash Sinks, Tanks, Tubs, and Basins: Upgrades for Efficiency and Ergonomics. University of Vermont Extension Ag Engineering. (2019, January 25). 
• Sample Equipment Cleaning Log. California Certified Organic Farmers. (2020). Retrieved on October 17, 2023. 

Processing Overview: Freezing, Drying, and Value-Added Products

Freezing 

Freezing is a practical mechanism for extending the shelf-life of elderberries and preserving taste, color, and nutritional value. For operations that are not able to process or sell elderberries immediately after harvest, freezing is a useful method for extending the shelf-life of elderberries to later make products such as syrups, vinegars, and jams. Additionally, freezing can be used as a step in the destemming process, as elderberries can be more easily removed from their stems when they are frozen than when they are fresh: As in other stages of elderberry handling, key steps should be taken to minimize the risk of physical, chemical and biological contamination in food.

This written guide provides an overview of methods and considerations for freezing elderberries, with an emphasis on food safety practices to minimize the risk of contamination from foodborne pathogens: 

• Food Safety Best Practices: Elderberry Freezing, Storage, and Holding  (also available as a PDF) 

Drying

Drying is an effective method for extending the shelf-life of elderberries and elderflowers and can be achieved through simple methods such as sun drying, solar drying, and dehydration. Reducing water content extends the shelf life, reduces volume/weight, and often requires less energy than other types of processing, such as freezing and canning. If properly stored, dried elderberries and elderflowers can be used later in syrups, cordials, vinegars, teas, and other products. 

Food safety measures – including cleaning and sanitation of equipment and contact surfaces – should be implemented to prevent contamination of the berries and flowers, and thus, foodborne illness. It is important to note that although the drying process destroys some microbes, foodborne pathogens can survive the drying process and remain inactive but viable until a better environment for growth is encountered.

This video focuses on approaches to drying elderberry and will highlight various food safety considerations: 

This written guide provides an overview of methods and considerations for drying elderberries, with an emphasis on food safety practices to minimize the risk of contamination from foodborne pathogens: 

• Food Safety Best Practices: Elderberry Drying (also available as a PDF)

Value-Added Products

Given the strong interest in using elderberry in value-added products like syrups, jellies, tinctures and teas, it is important that harvesters and processors understand how to minimize various foodborne risks and where their operations fit into the regulatory landscape (for example, compliance status under Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and/or state regulations around sale of processed foods). 

• CA Cottage Food Law allows individuals to prepare and/or package certain non-potentially hazardous foods in private-home kitchens.
• Processed Food Registration covers the manufacture, processing, storage and distribution of food products in California.

These webinars (May 2022) address food safety considerations and best practices for handling and processing elderberries and flowers. Experts in food safety from the UC Davis Dept. of Food Science and Technology discuss value-added product regulations and share resources. Hear from herbalists and elderberry product makers on how they approach working with this significant regional plant.

Elderberry Food Safety Practices for Home Use and Direct Sales 

• Food safety considerations for non-conventional production practices
• California Cottage Foods law for making value-added products

Elderberry Food Safety Practices for Scaling Up

• Food safety best practices for drying, freezing and processing berries and flowers
• Processed Foods Registration for making value-added products

Here are some additional resources that might be useful towards adopting food safety best practices for processing elderberries:

• For a list of labs capable of determining water activity for dried fruit on a lot to lot basis, visit: UC Davis Food Quality Food Industry Lab Analysis Contacts
• To learn more about the DryCard developed by UC Davis, visit: Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture
• Drying and Curing Herbs and Flowers (Hops, Hemp, and Everything Else!). UVM Extension Ag Engineering. Callahan, C. (2021, February 23). 
• Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) Checklist. University of New Hampshire Extension. (2023). 
• Artisan Food Safety Coaching Templates. Cornell University. (2019). 
• Value-Added On-Farm Processing: Regulatory Considerations. DiCaprio, E. and Feiereisel, K. (2018). 
• Workshop slides on CA Cottage Food Law - Coming Soon! 
• Demystifying the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Preventive Controls Rule: Supplier Verification Requirements. Armstrong, R., Hannum, E., Feiereisel, K., and DiCaprio, E. (2021, April).